The Lottery Questions

1. Were you surprised by the ending of the story? If not, at what point did you know what was going to happen? How does Jackson start to foreshadow the ending in paragraphs 2 and 3? Conversely, how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an ordinary story with an ordinary town?

Ans: Was not really surprised by the ending to this story. I never really knew what was going to happen but I had a feeling that something bad was about to happen when Jackson wrote about the stones being gathered in huge piles. I also feel he foreshadowed the ending by telling the reaction of the crowd when the paper was drawn. I think that he made us think this was ordinary by saying all the towns had done it and it was a tradition.

2. Where does the story take place? In what way does the setting affect the story? Does it make you more or less likely to anticipate the ending?

Ans: The setting made it easier to anticipate the ending because if you think about it no matter where in history we are a gathering of the entire town means one of two things; it is either good news or it is bad news. The color of the box also gave away that something bad was going to happen.

3. In what ways are the characters differentiated from one another? Looking back at the story, can you see why Tessie Hutchinson is singled out as the “winner”?

Ans: She is singled out as the winner because she was the one that was saying the drawing was unfair. I feel that the story chose her because nobody likes a sore loser when the drawing was that of a chance for everyone to be picked. 4. What are some examples of irony in this story? For example, why might the title, “The Lottery,” or the opening description in paragraph one, be considered ironic?

Ans: I don’t think there were any examples of irony.